Wheelchair-Bound Woman Dares To Dive Deeper Than Most Of Us Would Dare (Image 1)

Just watch for a moment…it really is what it looks like. Except…look close behind the wheels…a double set of propellers

And so she goes weightless…and every now and then…comes up for air.

Meet Sue Austin on dry land, giving a TEDTalk that has been downloaded by over half a million people. “It's wonderful to be here to talk about my journey,” she says.

Sixteen years ago, Austin began experiencing neurological problems after contracting cytomegalovirus, and eventually lost almost all of her mobility. For years, it bothered her to be perceived by others as being limited, confined.

“It was as if they couldn't see me anymore,” Austin says.

So she went into the sea so that we would see the device she rides in a whole new way..

“I literally have the freedom to move in 360 degrees of space and an ecstatic experience of joy and freedom,” she says.

The technology took a little doing, though…

“I started talking to talking to engineers, and they said,'no. you're not going to be able to do it', which was probably the best thing anyone could have said to me,” Austin says.

With the help of fellow divers, Austin invented a waterchair with custom fins and an air tank and she took the plunge for a ride that no one has evertaken before. It's literally pushed me through into a new way of being, into new dimensions and into a new level of consciousness,” she says.